Burnout Paradise Remastered releases and takes the top

A decade after its original release EA’s Burnout Paradise is back with a vengeance. The open world racing game originally made a mark in the PS3/Xbox 360 era and the first week sales performance of a remastered version, available for Xbox One and PlayStation 4, suggests that it still possesses a winning formula.

The title sailed straight to the top of the UK sales charts, becoming the fourth game in the Burnout series to do so (the original Burnout Paradise, 2004’s Burnout Takedown and 2005’s Burnout Revenge are the other games to achieve this feat).

It has, admittedly, been a relatively quiet few weeks in terms of raw sales figures in the UK. Last week’s number one in the UKIE/GfK Sales Chart was the evergreen Grand Theft Auto V – a huge seller over a number of years but an unlikely bestseller five years beyond its initial release.

GTAV was pushed down to fourth on this week’s chart after a 44% week-on-week sales drop, behind FIFA 18 in the third place (which experienced an 11% sales drop of its own) and the only other new entry in this week’s chart, Kirby Star Allies, in second spot.

Kirby Star Allies, available for the Nintendo Switch, is the latest instalment in the 2D platforming series that has scored its most notable victories on handheld consoles. 2014’s Kirby Triple Deluxe and 2015’s Kirby: Planet Robobot both sold well on the Nintendo 3DS but Kirby Star Allies now ranks as the fastest selling Kirby game to date – perhaps boosted by the popularity of the Switch and the hunger for new games on the console.

Sales figures are expected to increase in the next few weeks as some high profile new titles hit the shelves. Detective Pikachu on 3DS, Sea of Thieves on Xbox One and Ni No Kuni II on PS4 should all be contenders for a place in next week’s top ten, but it is Far Cry V, due on the 27th of March and expected to ship in large numbers, that will excite retailers the most.

Until then Burnout Paradise will enjoy its second day in the sun.